Stefan Tell, Sweden » Profoto

Portrait, gridded beauty dish + Octa

Stefan Tell — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:00:47 +0000

There is something I like with cinema lighting, or lighting for television, when they tend to have faces painted with just two tones of the same skin colour. This might sound strange when I try to explain it, I blame it on not having English as my first language. What I am trying to say is; I like interesting shadows.

For this portrait, a headshot for an author I did a couple of weeks ago, I tried to balance the key and the fill light so there would be one half of the portrait in a lighter skin tone, and the other in a darker.

Gridded key light and a large fill

They key light was a Profoto D1 250 Air with a gridded white Softlight Reflector (beauty dish) from camera left and a large 5-f00t softbox Octa camera right. No reflectors or anything else.

The lights where at the same height, angled down a bit with approx. the same effect setting, maybe a little lower on the fill side. The light in the background was not turned on, I just tried using it for a gradient on the background, but chose to keep it really simple, just two lights.

The camera was, as always, a Nikon D700 using, as always, the 85mm 1.4 lens. Processed in Lightroom 3.

I plan to buy two silver Profoto Umbrella XL and diffusers soon, and variations of this setup will be something I will continue to explore with them. Just by adjusting the light output or angle or position will create completely different portraits.

Painting a picture with mostly two different tones of the same colour can be very freeing, the position of the head is not as important as it is with harder and darker shadows. Here you can skip catchlights and have the model turn their into the shadows and still get an interesting portrait, I think.

Portraits of my pretty colleagues

Stefan Tell — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 13:02:39 +0000

I mostly work alone, but I rent a desk in a house full of nice people doing different stuff. Some are copywriters, some write code, some are art directors and the rest work as project managers and planning production. We all work on different projects for different clients, but share a house, so we really should have portraits in a similar style to present ourselves with.

{EAV:40344c0908895b35} (If you wonder what this is, I can tell you that it is a validation code for my Empire Avenue account so they know that this is my blog. If you are a member there, please buy some shares, otherwise, sign up for free. It is both fun and addictive, in a nice way).

Or maybe it was just an excuse for me to try out a different light setup with my brand new Molton fabric and two Profoto D1? I got more or less cooperative models, and they got new profile pictures.

Recently I have been working more and more with fill light in a way that gives more details in the shadows. For this session I used a Profoto D1 250 Air and a Profoto 5-foot softbox Octa as fill.

Right behind the camera stand, as close as possible, I placed the Octa, and removed both diffusors. I usually use it with just the inner baffle on, to get a good combination of soft light and contrast, this time it was a bit harder light from a large light source.

Using just one light from behind the camera would have been a bit flat, so I placed the second Profoto D1 with a white Profoto Softlight Reflector high camera left on an Autopole.

As seen from the model’s perspective

The beauty dish is angled down from about 2 or 2,5 meters up, depending where you measure it. To get a little fill from below, and more light into the eyes, I placed a silver reflector somewhere between waist and chest level.

I use my Chimera panels all the time, they are really great, but I only have large panel frames. To get a bit closer, I used the silver fabric from one of my reflectors and clamped it to a piece of cardboard. Voila, a smaller reflector and I could get closer to my models.

Three dimensional and natural light

I like this kind of lighting. It might not be the most flattering light as it creates shadows here and there that enhances wrinkles and facial features, but it gives a fantastic three dimensional effect and that is important in a portrait.

A dark Molton tunnel

To get rid of reflections from the white walls in my small studio, I use to have book ends on either side of the model, when I want better control of the light/shadow transition.

This time I used my new light blocker, large sheets of Molton fabrics with eyelets, mounted on four Autopoles, creating some sort of dark tunnel where I could control the light without bounced light.

Molton fabric is quite heavy, so it will be a lot easier to use Autopoles rather than light stands, if you don’t have any very large light stands.

Studio Lighting Setup Diagram

This session was shot using a white paper background, and a Nikon D700 with a 85mm/1.4 lens. Shutter speed 1/200s as usual, and aperture f/5.6.

The only real problem I encounted with this setup was my own lack of discipline, as these where my colleagues, I didn’t instruct them as much as I use to, which led to a lot of photos being taken when they didn’t stand exactly where they should. Which led to the light appeared different on different portraits.

There are many good things about placing the main light close to the model, but if you are to take portraits of more than one, make sure they are at the same distance from the light. Otherwise the light in the portraits will differ.

But, the same is the case with different skin types, different hairstyles and everything else that might be different from one person to another.

And, as usual, if you think I missed something, or have any questions regarding the lighting, please write a comment.

Beauty Dish as background light

Stefan Tell — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:30:37 +0000

I usually don’t let my light modifiers be a part of my portraits, sometimes I have to clone out the corner of a reflector panel or crop to get rid of a softbox that was placed very close to the model.

For this portrait of a Swedish authour and illustrator, we tried a lot of different angles, the white Profoto Softlight Reflector (a beauty dish) was first just used as hair light, placed very close to the background, out of frame. When I changed my position a bit, it became a part of the portrait.

At the beginning of this portrait session, I had the beauty dish more to the right, with a honeycomb grid, to act as a hair light. Or maybe more a rim light.

Angled more towards the background, to also create a soft gradient on the white paper background (like in the photo below).

I tend to set up my lights very close to the person I have in the studio, to be able to get the light precisely as I want. That also means that there is almost room to move around for me. One step to the left and half of the frame will be blocked by the main light, in this case a 5-foot Profoto softbox Octa with a silver reflector underneath.

When I was very close and near the main light, I somehow got an angle where the gridded background light came into the picture. It created a nice backlight, like a haze, so I moved the beauty dish to a spot almost right behind.

I’m usually no big fan of shining lights directly into the lens, most of the time the light just creates ugly effects around the things it passes. But this time I think I got it right. Looking very close, which I try not to do too often, and you might find strange colours and things like that.

But, overall, I think it made the first portrait a lot more interesting than the one without the beauty dish visible.

If I would try this again, I might consider lowering the effect on the back light, just to get back some of the detail now lost on top of her head which now looks almost cut out.

Portrait of a Canine X-ray Expert

Stefan Tell — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:30:17 +0000

A magazine I work for a lot sent me to a clinic where they are specialized in x-raying dogs, and the vet above is well known in Sweden for being very good at positioning the dogs right, which is important, I have learned.

The assignment was for an article, and usually I try to deliver realistic photos using only available light. But, for some photos, it is nice to bring your own light and not have to rely on the dark skies of Sweden or the un-flattering light from fluorescent lamps.

The light in his clinic was as it usually is in hospitals, fluorescent lamps from above and yellow walls. Outside it was a pretty dark and grey day, so the mix of window light and the available light inside was quite boring.

Most of the photos I took for this article, I did without the help of my Profoto AcuteB 600R, mostly because we did the interview during examinations, and scaring sedated dogs with flashes didn’t like a good idea.

For the portraits (that might end up on the cover, hopefully) I placed the AcuteB 600R on a stand with a Zoom Reflector behind a Chimera panel with diffusion fabric to soften the light a bit.

To miminize the light from the lamps and the windows, I set the shutter speed to 1/200s and used aperture f/5. With such a large light source coming from camera left, there was no need for additional reflectors or fill light.

For some other photos, I used the AcuteB as a constant light source, turning on the modeling light just to add a little more light to the room, from a different angle. It doesn’t scare the animals, even if might be a little irritating. One thing that I have learned about using the modeling light is that it drains the battery pretty fast. Not that fast, but it is easy to forget how long you have it on.

A fun assignment in many ways, very interesting, but working with a camera from behind a lead glass screen is not something I would try to do again, my auto-focus had big problems of finding focus, but then again, the glass is designed to stop x-rays, so it might not be that strange.

Sooner or later I think I need to learn more about using Speedlights for assignments like this. Even if I like the AcuteB, together with some light modifiers, a camera bag and stands, it is hard to call it portable.

One last model portrait

Stefan Tell — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 17:30:22 +0000

This will be the last photo from this portrait session I did for a guy wanted to get into the modelling business as a male model. Last I heard from him, he had signed for an agency so I guess the pictures did what they were for. Showing his potential.

First we started with a one-light setup using only a Profoto D1 250 Air and a Magnum reflector, together with a reflector for a little fill.

The only difference from the last shot (read Profoto Magnum model portrait for more details) was that I added a second Profoto D1 behind a Chimera panel with diffusion fabric to act as fill camera right.

You can see a tiny bit of the corner of the panel, up in the upper right corner of this behind the scenes-photo. The effect of this second light is a second catchlight in his left eye and a little more detail on the shadow side of his face.

The one-light portrait I did earlier got a pretty hard contrast treatment, I felt that it was the best way to make it interesting in black and white. This on the other hand could be good even with a softer contrast to keep the details in the shadows visible.

These photos were adjusted for contrast and sharpness in Lightroom, as well as converted to black and white. No skin retouch or stuff like that. Shot with a Nikon D700 with a 85mm/1.4 lens.

Which one do you think works best, just one light or the one with fill?

Portraits in office environment

Stefan Tell — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:00:01 +0000

Very often my clients want photos taken in their office, but to make it look a little better, often with a stock photo as some kind of visual reference. Trying to imitate something very polished, sunny and designed, in an ordinary office has its challenges. Especially when the sky outside is covered with dark clouds.

That is exactly what happened to me lately, when shooting portraits for a client. We had just shot the ordinary portraits against a medium grey background in one of their rooms, when they asked if I could take a couple more. If I could use their office as background, they would be delighted.

Behind the scenes (or the camera)

We chose just one location for five different people, mostly because we didn’t have the time to move the lighting equipment around a lot that day. Their office is very new, with relatively high ceiling and white walls. A good environment in many ways.

Except for the light.

The small image to the right is my first test shot (1/200s and f/5.6). Only the main light (a Profoto D1 250 Air in a 5-foot softbox Octa camera left) is switched on.

Too dark in every way, especially the background which I would like to have brighter than the subject in the foreground. I had to open the aperture to f/2.8 and use 1/60s as my shutter speed to balance the light from the windows in the background, the overhead lights and the light from my D1.

The main light from my Profoto D1 camera left, together with a large reflector camera right gave the model a good exposure. The lights above just added a little, not much and nothing that interfered with the colors.

To get that bright background, just using the light coming in from the windows was not enough. I placed a bare bulb Profoto D1 behind the column to the right in the photo, pointed to the right at a white wall.

The open aperture and the slow shutter speed with a little help from the light in the background made it look like the sun was shining in through the windows.

Which is was not, at all.

I only had two lights with me that day, but if I had a third, I would have placed it on the same line as the background light, but camera left. That would have made the background more evenly lit. But, I think this worked fine.

The distance between the camera and the model, and the model and the background, gave the photo a nice blur in the background. I could have use a 70-200/2.8 and placed myself even further away, but I think this worked with my old 85mm/1.4.

Trying to make photos like this in a smaller office is of course a lot harder, to get the light to look almost real, I think it needs distance. Or a lot more equipment, or a very closer cropping. This photo looks, in my opinion, good both as a landscape crop with a little more details, or a portrait crop with just a blurred background.

I used a Nikon D700 for this, a did all the adjustments in Adobe Lightroom (mainly colors, contrast and a little brightening of the background around the windows).

If you think I have missed anything, or just want to say hi, please leave a comment. It is always very appreciated.

Profoto Magnum model portrait

Stefan Tell — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:00:27 +0000

Recently I took some portraits for a guy wanting to try his luck as a male model, click here for the result from the outdoor portrait session on a cloudy day.

Before that we started in the studio with a very simple lighting setup. Just one Profoto D1 250 Air and a gridded Magnum reflector, and a bookend. On white background. No retouching, just him.

This is a “behind the scenes” from my small photo studio. Camera left is the Profoto D1 250 Air on a AutoPole using a SuperClamp (it saves space on the floor, and you can get the light higher up than many stands can, and it feels really stable). You never want to hear your monobloc fall from 2,5 or 3 meter.

Here is the studio lighting setup diagram from this shot, I used a Nikon D700 (as usual) and a 85mm/1.4 lens at f/3.5. Camera right was a black panel, or a bookend, or v-flat. Just a black panel, blocking light from bouncing back on the shadow side from the white wall. Adding a little extra contrast and blackness to the shadows.

The gridded Magnum reflector and the angle from high up made the shadows under his chin long, but it was low enough to add a little catchlight in his eyes.

We did a lot of portraits with this setup, adding small modification and changed angles here and there. Working with a relatively open studio is very freeing, most of the time I add so much stuff that there is only one angle left that is not blocked by lights, stands, reflectors or other things.

And working with just one light is fun, you can do very much with very small modifications and get completely different results.

The reflector (a Chimera panel with white fabric) might not have been in this picture, but the distance from his face did not do much difference, especially not with a black and white conversion with so much contrast and shadows.

If you have any questions, please write a comment.

Snoot Portrait & setup

Stefan Tell — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 23:29:26 +0000

I haven’t used the snoot for portraits in a while, and when a publisher in Stockholm asked me to take some portraits of a writer, I thought it could be a good idea to include it. To create something a little different.

Using the snoot all by itself would maybe have been cool, but not that useful. Maybe if she wrote vintage mystery novels. So, I used it together with a much larger light source from the same direction, a 5 foot Profoto softbox Octa. As something between fill and key light.

Setup diagram for a snoot portrait

I started with the big light, and placed that about 5 feet (150 cm) from her head, a little underexposed. From the same direction, I added the snoot a little higher up, just around the upper edge of the big softbox.

The snoot is a combination of a Profoto Zoom Reflector, a grid holder and the snoot itself. I think I also used a grid inside, but can’t remember if I did (and don´t really know how much difference it makes in a portrait like this).

Both the snoot and the Octa are mounted on Profoto D1 250 Air monoblocs, and with the Profoto Air Remote, it was really simple to adjust the effect up and down until the ratio felt right.

In the detail picture to the right, the large catchlight is the Octa, and below is the reflection of the silver reflector. The tiny bright spot above is the snoot.

The most visible effect from the snoot is the shadows it creates under her nose and the shadow pattern her hair makes. But also inside her eye sockets, the shadow line is much more distinct than it would have been with just one large light source.

Octa + snoot + reflector

The Octa together with the snoot and a round silver reflector below creates something like a wall of light from one side, just with different contrasts and properties.

Without any special makeup and styling, I was very modest with the ratios of the lights, I think.

It was, after all, a portrait of a woman writing books, not something to sell lipstick. If I would try this kind of setup another time, I would try to make it a little bit more dramatic. But without professional makup, it is really easy to make her skin look bad and blown out.

Angle & position makes a lot of difference

During this photo session, we tried a lot of poses, or rather, different angles of her head and face. If we had used just one large light source as main/key light, a lot of shots would have been good and ready to use.

But, with such a specific lighting setup, it was rather the opposite. Most of the shots didn’t look good, lighting-wise. A little turn of her face and the cheekbones might be to prominent in the picture, or the nose would look bad. Et cetera.

ND-filter and background/hair light

Shooting on a black background often needs some sort of hair light or rim light, just to avoid to having parts of the head and/or body melt into the background. In this case I used a Profoto Compact 300 with a beauty dish, gridded, as hair light.

Two layers of ND-filter was needed to get the light output down to the same levels I had the D1’s on. Soon I will buy two more Profoto D1’s, just to have the simplicity of the Air system and not having to deal with ND-filters any more.

The idea of controlling everything from one remote is very easy to get used to, and climbing on ladders is not that fun, just for adjusting the power.

But, adding filter gels with tape on the outside of a reflector can have interesting effects. I was a bit sloppy when I taped the two layers onto the beauty dish, and when a little bit fell off, it opened up a little sliver of light which hit the background directly.

So, I got a strange pattern or light beam on the black background. It was nothing I had planned for, but I think it added something to the picture so I let it stay there.

For this portrait I used a Nikon D700 with the 85mm/1.4 lens (the old model, not G) and most of the adjustments were made in Lightroom with some final touches in Photoshop.

For publicity portraits, I try to keep the retouching down to a minimum, just to make it feel a little bit natural (given the circumstances, even if studio lights are really not that natural).

If there would be one problem with this kind of lighting (apart from the problems of posing and getting the angles right), it would be that the effect of the snoot on normal skin (without heavy makeup or retouch) makes it look very different in different parts of the picture.

Some parts, where the snoot is not shining so brightly, the skin can look a little bit dull and dark. But, overall, I like it anyway.

If you have any questions, have I missed anything? Please let me know.

Business Portrait with 3 lights

Stefan Tell — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 22:26:54 +0000

This is a business portrait from the final session the day I used almost the same lighting setup for three different clients with just the addition of one more light for every new “model”.

It started with the one light setup with a test model (a friend with a skate board), which resulted in these portraits of a Swedish singer.

Later the same day, I shot some business portraits using two lights, and last, the portrait above with a third light used as fill light. Just a little, to make the texture in his face become more visible, and the shadows more open.

3 light setup diagram for business portraits

The only difference between this setup and the last, is the fill light from the third light coming from camera right through a panel (Chimera) with diffusion fabric. As I used a Profoto Compact 300 monobloc together with the two Profoto D1 250 Air, I had to put ND-filter in front of it to lower the output.

I really like the idea of recycling lighting setups, or maybe have a basic setup to build from, especially those days when I have more than one portrait session booked. It makes things so much simpler if you don’t have to start from scratch every time.

But I must admit that there are ways to do this and get much more varied results, the grey background in these portraits are almost the same, so just switching the background paper would have made a big difference.

And that is not very hard to do (even if I think grey almost always works best for portraits). Or add a fourth light to create a gradient or pattern on the background. As long as the basic lighting works, everything else is just details that might (or might not) make it a better portrait.